The only team better than them is Chelsea! West Ham’s Sam Allardyce praises Newcastle

Alan Pardew’s side have recorded six straight victories in all competitions, and their good form has seen them climb to fifth in the Premier League as well qualify for the quarter finals of the Capital One Cup.

Speaking ahead of Newcastle’s trip to Upton Park, Allardyce praised the Magpies and sensationally claimed that at the moment they were second best team in the league.

While addressing the Hammers’ injury crisis and their recent loss to Everton, he said: “At the moment I thought we coped very well last week, but still at the end of the day we lost the game and we didn’t get a result.

IT'LL BE TOUGH: West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is expecting a difficult game against Newcastle on Saturday [GETTY]

“I think that Newcastle are the most difficult team to beat in the Premier League apart from Chelsea on the form they’ve shown at this moment in time”

Sam Allardyce

"So it means we’ve got to try and beat the most difficult team to play against in the Premier League at this moment in time apart from Chelsea.

“I think that Newcastle are the most difficult team to beat in the Premier League apart from Chelsea on the form they’ve shown at this moment in time.